An Unlikely Championship For Prievidza

It hasn't always been that way this season, especially when there were fears that there might not even be a season.

A lack of sponsorship nearly prevented the club from joining the Extraliga competition.

But Prievidza pulled together, managed to take their place in the league and with first-year man Johan Roijakkers, a Dutchman, as coach, the team took the fans on a magical ride that ended with a Slovakian league title triumph over the weekend.

Two of the country's top clubs, Inter Bratislava and Levice, were invited to join the Czech Mattoni NBL and did not take part in this season's Slovak league.

Prievidza finished the Extraliga regular season with 22 wins and just 10 defeats - the same record as first-place Komarno.

The two sides met in the play-off finals and Prievidza prevailed in the best-of-five title series, 3-1.

"All who love this sport in Prievidza, we're excited that we succeeded," club president Maros Pavlenda said.

"This triumph is all the more valuable than before because our participation in the league was under threat."

In the decisive win, David Godbold had 18 points and Sullivan Phillips, the British veteran from Bermudas, 13.